Impact of continuous, non-invasive blood pressure measurement on sleep quality during polysomnography

Abstract

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is generally considered an etiologic factor in the development of hypertension (HT), but the exact pathophysiological mechanisms remain incompletely explained. Portapres continuous non-invasive blood pressure (BP) measurement during polysomnography (PSG) might be a powerful tool for future research to better understand these mechanisms. However, the effect of overnight Portapres BP monitoring itself on sleep is unclear. The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of Portapres BP measurement on sleep quality during PSG. In a matched groups design, 40 patients with treated or suspected, untreated sleep apnea underwent one overnight PSG either with or without simultaneous Portapres BP measurement. Twenty PSG recordings with additional Portapres monitoring and 20 gender and treatment matched control PSGs were investigated. Total recording time was significantly lower in the Portapres group than in the control group (414.6 vs 443.4 min, P = 0.046). No statistically significant differences were observed in arousal index (20.6 vs 23.3 events/h), total sleep time (312.0 vs 324.6 min), sleep efficiency (75.2 vs 73.9%), sleep onset latency (20.4 vs 22.2 min), REM-sleep (16.1 vs 15.0%) and slow-wave sleep (8.9 and 11.5%) between the Portapres and the control group. The results of this analysis suggest that Portapres BP measurement during overnight PSG does not have a clinically relevant impact on sleep quality and might therefore be a good diagnostic tool for future research on dynamic BP changes in sleep apnea.